Originally announced at E3 in 2018, Dying Light 2 has seemingly all but disappeared. The lack of news has led to multiple outlets commenting on a possible development hell that has similarly surrounded anticipated titles such as Dead Island 2 and Cyberpunk 2077. Now, it appears that Techland is at least willing to toss impatient gamers a bone.
The mystery of Dying Light 2 began when a Polish outlet (PolskiGamedev) stated that they had interviewed multiple developers within Techland. Said developers reported poor management and frustration in the Polish studio, which was then picked up by multiple outlets eager to feed a hyped fanbase any form of news where none was coming. Techland attempted to quell the rising fires and allegations by contradicting the outlet entirely, yet the damage had seemingly been done already.
Now, Techland has just released a new video on the status of Dying Light 2 while poking some much-needed fun at the overly eager fans. With the video comes twelve seconds of never-seen-before Dying Light 2 footage, proving that development has continued unabated. It is violent, horrifying, and arguably the most proof that fans will get for some time that Techland is not on fire in Warsaw.
The video also brings about notes of concern regarding the fanbase of gamers, once again. Cyberpunk 2077 was rushed to release, yet developers were receiving death threats and insults daily on social media due to delays. Once again, delays have struck, and seemingly oblivious to the catalyst of Cyberpunk 2077's disastrous launch, fans are once again foaming at the mouth and calling for blood. It is worth noting that the video game industry has experienced exponential growth in the past years. As audiences grow, so too does the number of outliers that struggle with standard human etiquette.
Techland noted recently that Dying Light 2 is not in trouble, merely that the title was announced too early. This set expectations for release far sooner than was plausible, and Techland does not want to rush through development for arbitrary deadlines. Once again, there are parallels to be drawn towards Cyberpunk 2077 being rushed and falling flat immediately after the starting gun fired. The brief gameplay snippet seen within the video is admittedly not much to go with, but the few seconds of content already seem to threaten fans with narrative spoilers.
The statement from Techland in its video is received clearly: development continues on Dying Light 2, and Techland is looking to ensure it is the best possible title it can create. Beyond that is little more than rumors until the title releases, and can be judged on its own merits, or Techland makes an official announcement contrary to what has been stated today.
Dying Light 2 is in development for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.